COE's Fall 2026 Newsletter Focuses on AI in Education
Sep. 2, 2026
The College of Education's Fall 2026 newsletter focuses on the role of artificial intelligence in education, emphasizing the critical role human connection plays alongside emerging technologies.
In her introduction, Dean Robin Hojnoski outlines the college's strategic and ethical approach to integrating AI into instruction, research, and classroom settings. Viewing technological advances through a developmental and cognitive lens, Hojnoski stresses the necessity of keeping the "human in the loop."
"When we fully embrace what we have to offer in support of learning, we can focus on how best to leverage technology to enhance and complement our human efforts," writes Hojnoski, highlighting how human interaction fosters student agency, self-regulated learning, and active cognition.
The issue highlights several key faculty initiatives exploring responsible AI application, including:
- Prioritizing Human Intelligence: Associate Professor Tom Hammond discusses AI literacy in schools, advocating that educators teach both the strengths and weaknesses of AI tools to foster critical thinking among students.
- Cultural Responsiveness in Mental Healthcare: Assistant Professor Vanesa Mora Ringle, alongside interdisciplinary collaborators, introduces CALLM-Care (Culturally Adaptive LLM-Guided Care). The AI-powered platform simulates patient interactions from diverse cultural backgrounds to train therapists and bridge linguistic gaps in mental health care.
- Practical AI Applications: Stories showcasing AI use across STEM fields, student critical thinking support, and healthcare choice navigation.
Continuing this conversation, the COE is hosting a monthly "AI in Education" webinar series. The first session is scheduled for Tuesday, September 8.
To read the fall issue, visit https://conta.cc/4gL7C5Q.
